Faint Proof Zeke
by Margarita Rosario
Summary: how Harper and Zeke FINALLY solved their kissing problem
1. Chapter 1

**Faint-proof Zeke**

**Summary:** How Harper solved that kissing problem

**Flashback:** In "Alex Russo, Matchmaker?", Alex tried to pair Harper and Zeke, putting a spell on them (it was also the first episode where Harper and Zeke attempted to kiss! :D). In "Wizards Unleashed", Zeke kept on fainting when Harper kisses him. They solved the problem by doing a high-five then staring longingly at each other (cute plan though… :D)

**Author's note:** unlike other Harper fanfics, I won't be describing any dresses (Harper's ingenious mind is very hard to compete with XD). And this will focus more on Harper and Zeke (so no magic will be involved…)

**POV**: 3rd person

**Disclaimer:** I don't own WOWP, because if I did, there would be more HarperxZeke!

_Comments and reviews bring color into my life_

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**Chapter 1: Introduction**

Harper and Alex were sitting by the counter of the Sub-shop, doing their homework. Okay, so maybe more like Harper doing _their _homework (you know Alex… she's probably just pretending to do hers so she won't have to wait tables).

As Alex was trying to solve possible future money crisis by trying to join Minute to Win It and was fumbling around with a raw egg, some salt and a lampshade (she was _this_ close to using magic), Harper suddenly asked her, "Alex? Can you help me with a problem?..."

"Harper, you know I don't know about those Math… trigo… things… Go ask my geek brother Justin," she said shaking her head and laughing.

"No…" Harper slowly said, "It's about Zeke…"

"Harper, you know I don't know about those weird… alien… boy-type things… Go ask my geek brother Justin," Alex replied, and continued to fumble with her egg.

"But Alex!" Harper panicked. She moved closer and whispered, "It's about a kissing problem…"

"Yeah on second thought, don't ask Justin…" Alex said, then thought of a million other jokes about him. Soon enough, she lost all her composure and laughed her ass off.

"What don't you guys want to ask me?" Justin asked, appearing from behind the counter with Max.

"Uh… this Math problem!" Harper yelped, shoving the papers into Justin's face. She did NOT want her ex-crush knowing about her boy problems involving his best friend.

Looking confused, Justin analyzed the papers and said, "But Harper, you already answered it all…"

Harper froze.

"But of course, always recheck!" Justin said as-a-matter-of-factly.

As Harper let out a sigh of relief, Max asked Alex, "What's up with the egg and the lampshade?"

"She's trying to balance the egg on top of the light bulb…" Harper said.

Alex gave Max the egg and soon the boy was trying to do the said task. "No, Max," Alex piped up. "You have to use some salt to balance the egg."

Max grabbed the saltshaker and sprinkled some salt… onto his tongue. Alex and Harper just rolled their eyes as Max continued to fumble with the egg. Soon he said, with his tongue out, "It's not working."

"There! Finished!" Justin triumphantly said. "Good work Harper! You got it all right!" he quickly turned to the next page. He paused and quizzically looked at the paper.

Harper, who had beamed at Justin's remark, looked at his confused expression and said, "Some of the answers on those are wrong on purpose…That's Alex' paper…"

Alex wrapped her arm around her best friend's shoulder and said, "This way I won't be caught cheating. Am I a genius or what?" then raised her hand in an attempt of a high-five with Harper, who just shook her head. Alex turned to Max, but he was still fumbling with the egg, a pile of salt visible on his tongue. With no one else to turn to, Alex just high-fived herself. "Hah!" she laughed.

"Harper?" Justin said as he flipped the paper for the others to see. "Not that I was snooping or anything, but this isn't a very good plan…"

On top of the paper were the words, "Harper's Plans to Kiss Zeke Without Him Fainting!" underline, underline. Below the title were the words "Plan Number 1". Nothing else contained the paper.

Harper quickly grabbed the paper from Justin's hands in embarrassment.

"Aww, Harper… it's okay…" Alex said.

"You know, Harper," Justin said, his love for plan-making showing out. "I know my friend Zeke. And I know how he got his hydrophobia out of his system. Maybe I can help you out." And with that, he wrote something under "Plan Number 1".

Alex, giving some thought into it, said "One thing I know about Zeke, aside from his geeky ways…" she looked at her brother, who just shrugged, "…is how easily freaked out that weirdo is. Remember that time when he saw Mason transform?"

"Half-transform," corrected Justin. "Whatever," Alex replied as she grabbed the paper from Justin's hands and quickly wrote something under "Plan Number 2".

Harper looked at the paper. "Alex! You know how I don't like you using magic on us!" and quickly scrapped "Plan Number 3".

Suddenly, Max spoke up. "Does a kiss really have to be on the mouth?" Spitting the salt out of his tongue, he said, "Maybe you should kiss him somewhere else… on the hand, maybe? Like those European guys on tv…"

Justin and Alex just rolled their eyes, but Harper said, "Thanks, Max. Thanks for your help…" and gave the paper to Max.

After Max wrote his plan, the four of them stared at the piece of paper as Harper held it out in front of them.

"This might actually work…" commented Harper.

At that exact moment, Zeke entered the Sub-shop. "Hey Justin! My man!"

Harper, mortified, quickly put down the paper and hid it safely in place.

"Oh, hey Harper! Didn't see you there!" Zeke called. "H-hey Zeke…" Harper replied.

Zeke came near her and they did the "high-five-followed-by-longing-staring". Alex just rolled her eyes and said, "You better get to Plan Number 1, and fast…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Faint-proof Zeke**

**Flashback:** While working on their "Ms. Sew-boto Roboto" science project in "Alex Russo, Matchmaker?", they decide to take it to the next level… and build a washing machine robot.

**Author's note:** I based Zeke's place in the episode "Wizards Unleashed", where he threw his party, but I'm not sure if that really WAS his place (if it was, then damn! He's rich! :D)

* * *

**Chapter 2: Plan Number 1 (Justin's Plan)**

As the two broke off from their "high-five-followed-by-long-staring", Zeke turned to Justin and said, "Hey man, we better practice for our presentation in the next Alien Language League meeting."

Before Justin could say anything, Alex butted in and said, "A-actually, that… weirdo stuff you're gonna be doing… just got canceled!" as she clasped her hands.

"Really?" Zeke screamed in disbelief. Justin quickly turned to her sister and protested, "What? You can't do that!" to which Alex just brushed off his face and said to Zeke, "Which is why you will be going out with Harper today!"

"Yay!" Harper squealed in glee.

"Well…" said Zeke, "Okay then…" And soon the two lovebirds were holding hands and striding out of the Sub-shop.

An irritated Justin turned to Alex and said, "Cancelling our presentation? That was totally unnecessary."

Alex just patted Justin on the back and replied, "Trust me, for everybody's sakes, it was…"

* * *

"So…" Harper asked, "Where are we going today?"

"I was thinking of maybe going to the amusement park today!" Zeke excitedly told her. "If, you know, that's okay with you…"

Harper's mind went racing. _What was Justin's plan again?_

_Plan Number 1: Kiss Zeke over and over until he gets used to it._

_Amusement parks have lots of children in there!_ she thought panicking.

"Uhm, Zeke?" she nervously said. "Why don't we just… hang out at your place?" _So that we'll have all the privacy that we need…_

"Okay, I guess… since, you know, my parents are out of town…"

"Great!" Harper squealed. She quickly grabbed Zeke's arm and walked as fast as she could, dragging Zeke to his place.

As the two made their way inside the elevator, Harper was getting very nervous. _Should I kiss him now? What if he faints? I'll have to drag his body out of the elevator…_

She looked at Zeke, who was excitedly looking at the numbers light up as the elevator passed through the floors. She smiled at her boyfriend's innocence, and as she looked at the numbers as well, her eyes caught a little black device sticking out from the ceiling of the elevator.

_There's a camera! No, I'm not kissing Zeke in front of some old security guard._

The elevator came to a stop, the dinging sound was heard, and as the elevator doors opened, Zeke offered Harper an arm. Harper excitedly took it, and they brisk-walked into Zeke's home.

"Well, milady…" Zeke said in a British accent (trying to copy Mason, are we?). "Welcome to my humble a-bode…" and he kissed her hand.

"Good sir!" Harper answered giddily.

"What might the fair lady want to do to-day?"

"I think the knight in shining armor should decide for our itinerary to-day…"

"Great!" went Zeke, suddenly out of his English-knight character and back to his hyper self. "'Cause I was thinking of maybe working on our robot washing machine…"

Harper's jaw dropped. "Come on!" Zeke yelped as he grabbed her hand and led her to the living room. "Uh wait! Zeke!" Harper said.

Zeke stopped and looked at her. "What?"

"Maybe we should… do something else…" Harper said, walking nearer to him. "Like what?" Zeke asked quietly, looking at Harper's face as it came closer to his. "Something… like… this?" whispered Harper, before she let her lips touch his.

It didn't last long.

In an instant, Zeke was on the floor unconscious. Harper sighed as she looked at her boyfriend. _This is gonna take a while_.

* * *

"He's still passing out?" Alex asked.

"Yeah! I've been kissing him for the past two hours. And so far, he's still fainting!" Harper wailed on her cellphone as sat next to her unconscious beau.

"Well? How's the plan working out?" Justin asked Alex. She turned to him and said, "Your plan sucks." Justin rolled his eyes and grabbed Alex' cellphone. "Harper? Tell me exactly what you were doing."

"I've been doing what you wrote on the paper! I kept kissing him, but he keeps on fainting!"

"Well, try doing it again."

Alex grabbed her phone back from Justin. "I thought you were a good plan maker!"

"I am! This was how I got rid of Zeke's hydrophobia. I just kept exposing him to water…" Justin argued. "Well it's not working!" Alex snapped.

Suddenly Zeke woke up. "Hey Harper! Who are you talking to?"

"Kiss him again!" Alex screamed. "If this still doesn't work, we switch to MY plan."

Harper put down the phone and smacked her lips onto Zeke's. The boy fainted again. Harper sighed and put back her phone to her ear. "I guess it's time for plan B…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Faint-proof Zeke**

**Flashback:** In "Wizards Unleashed", when Zeke and Harper were left taking care of the Sub-shop, Harper kept trying to have Zeke kiss her, doing arm-slide motions… :D (aww, I just remembered how cute that scene was!)

**Author's note:** witness my attempt to describe Harper's outfit (and failing to do it creatively T_T)

* * *

**Chapter 3: Plan Number 2 (Alex' Plan)**

"And remember kids, no more wolves in the fridge!" Mr. Russo warned the three. "Don't worry dad, Mason's back in human form…" Alex answered, linking her hand with Mason.

Mr. Russo saw the PDA and held out a finger, but stopped himself, rolled his eyes, and went out of the door. Mrs. Russo just smiled and shook her head at her husband, but followed him out. Before leaving, she called out, "We'll be back tomorrow. Justin's in charge until we get back!"

"Yes!" yelped Justin. Alex yelled in protest, "What? That's not fair!" Her complains went unheard.

"Well Alex, since I'm in charge, I want you to take care of the Sub-shop this afternoon."

"What? I can't! I have a date with Mason!"

"Well I can't either! I have to work on a project for school."

"Why not let Max…"

Justin looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Never mind…" grumbled Alex.

"Don't worry Alex. Tomorrow, I'll be the one who'll take care of the Sub-shop. You can be free to date Mason by then." And with that, Justin was gone.

"Argh!" Alex grumbled. Mason stood quietly beside her and said, "Well love, I can help you run the Sub-shop today."

"No! Today's the last showing of Hannah Montana the Movie! I wanted to make fun of it with you…"

"We could always watch it on DVD," Mason shrugged.

"It wouldn't be the same!" Alex argued. She grumbled some more, but then had an idea. She got her cellphone and started texting.

"Who are you texting, love?" Mason asked.

"Just chill. Because we WILL go on a date today."

* * *

"Alex! I just got your text!" Harper called as she hurriedly entered the Sub-shop, wearing a nurse's outfit and carrying chicken soup on a bowl, some pillows and a blanket. "Are you okay? You should lie down."

Just then, Zeke entered the Sub-shop in the same way. "Alex! Is Justin alright?" he asked frantically, in his hands his own bowl of chicken soup.

Alex, in full date attire, faked a cough and said, "*cough* *cough* yeah… do you guys mind taking care of the Sub-shop while we're gone?" She quickly linked her arm to Mason's and went straight for the door.

"Alex! You're sick! Where are you going?" Harper wailed. Alex turned and slowly mumbled, "To… the… hospital?"

"Where's Justin?" Zeke worriedly asked.

"He's… in the hospital… too?"

"What?" screamed Zeke. As he started pacing the room in apprehension, Harper just rolled her eyes as realization hit her: she was again part of one of Alex' schemes.

As she put the things down to a nearby table and started putting on an apron, Alex called her and mouthed "Plan Number Two".

Harper gave her a confused look. Alex held out two fingers and continued to mouth the words "Plan Two".

As Harper got the message, Zeke turned to Alex and saw what Alex was doing. Alex realized this and just smiled and held her two fingers near her face like a peace sign.

"Maybe I should come with you and visit Justin at the hospital," suggested Zeke.

"NO!" Alex and Harper shouted. "Uhm… Justin said… to ask you… if you could take care of the Sub-shop while he was away…" Alex lied. "Yeah. You should just stay here with me," Harper sweetly added as she put her hand on Zeke's shoulder. Zeke relaxed a bit and agreed.

Soon Alex and Mason were off in there date, and Harper and Zeke were alone in the Sub-shop, just after closing time. As Zeke was cleaning the counter, Harper was prepping herself by a nearby table for the plan.

_Plan Number 2: Warn Zeke first before kissing him._

Harper straightened her nurse's costume, fixed her hair and her nurse's cap, and walked towards Zeke behind the counter.

"H-hey Zeke…" Harper began.

"Hey Harper!" Zeke smiled, then turned his focus back on wiping a glass crystal clear. Harper cleared her throat and slowly grabbed the glass from Zeke's hands and put it down on the table. Zeke gave her a confused look as Harper just laughed uncomfortably. She almost did that arm-slide motion thing again, but stopped herself and just settled in resting her head prettily on her hand.

Zeke just chuckled and started to get another glass to polish, but Harper grabbed his hand to stop him again.

"Harper? Are you okay?" Zeke asked.

"Yeah listen… Zeke…" Harper said. "I'm going to kiss you right now…" she slowly whispered. Zeke's eyes grew as Harper closed hers and she slowly leaned in for the kiss.

Harper continued leaning in, but her lips remained untouched. She was almost over the counter when she opened her eyes.

"Zeke? Where are you?"

Harper looked around, and saw Zeke behind the counter, unconscious yet again.

* * *

"How could my plan fail! That's IMPOSSIBLE!" Alex wailed in the Sub-shop.

"It just did," grumbled Harper. "I mean, he fainted before I even kissed him!" she complained.

"I knew this was going to happen the minute you wrote your plan," Justin answered smugly. Alex glared at him. "Well why didn't you say that earlier!"

"I wanted to see you fail."

Alex lunged towards Justin, but thankfully Mason stopped her before enough damage could be done. "Stop it!" Justin wailed. "Wait until I tell mom and dad that you went on a date instead of taking care of the Sub-shop!"

"Wait until mom and dad that you went on doing your geeky projects instead of taking care of the Sub-shop!" Alex debated. Before Justin could argue, Max came down from the stairs and called them. "Hey you guys! Zeke's awake."

Soon all of them went to the Russo's living room, looking at Zeke who was laying on the couch, rubbing his eyes. He looked around and saw Justin. "Oh hey man!" he jumped up and hugged Justin. "I was sooo worried! Are you okay? What did they do to you at the hospital?" Zeke bombarded questions while Justin glared at Alex.

As Zeke continued to hug Justin in front of a bewildered Harper, Alex and Mason, Max piped up, "Does this mean you guys are gonna do my plan next?"

"Totally," Alex, Justin and Harper answered.


	4. Chapter 4

**Faint-proof Zeke**

**Author's note:** Harper will look like a really sexually excited virgin in this chapter (hahaha!) :DD warning! Heavy petting and necking ahead!

**Chapter 4: Plan Number 3 (Max's Plan)**

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* * *

**

Max went over the top for his plan to work out perfectly the way he planned it. Which is why when Alex and Justin went down to the Sub-shop to take care of the customers, Max led Harper and Zeke into the living room with jell-o as bait. Well, more like led Zeke in, with Harper just following behind. As soon as Max set down the plate full of jell-o, he scrambled towards the door and locked it.

As Max went down the stairs, very proud of himself and getting his groove on, Justin called him and said, "Hey Max! Do me a favor and get a pen from my room? This one's lost its ink."

"I can't," Max answered. Justin gave him a puzzled look. "It's locked," Max added.

"What?" screamed Justin. He quickly checked his pockets. Unfortunately, he didn't bring his house keys. "Did you bring a key?"

"Nope."

"You locked us out of our own house?" wailed Justin. "You know we can't use our magic while mom and dad are away!" he snapped after checking to see if the close was clear.

"Relax, Justin," Alex butted in. "Harper and Zeke are inside."

* * *

"Come on Harper!" Zeke called Harper who was in the living room. "Let's eat some jell-o!"

Harper looked at the locked door, rolled her eyes at Max, and went to the kitchen. Zeke gave her a spoon and they started eating. As they were enjoying themselves and actually feeding each other, Harper remembered the plan.

_Plan Number 3: Kiss Zeke in his other body parts._

Harper shrugged at Max's weird choice of words, but put her head back on the game. "Hey Zeke! Let's sit by the couch!"

"Okay," Zeke answered, ate the last spoonful of jell-o, and followed Harper to the living room. Harper was already seated on the couch, and when Zeke arrived in the living room, she scooted over and patted the spot left exclusively for her boyfriend.

Zeke sat down and smiled at her. A few minutes passed though, and Harper still didn't do anything. Zeke soon started staring into space and fiddling with his hands. Harper started to panic. _I need to do something… anything…_

She suddenly kissed Zeke on the cheek. A surprised Zeke held his breath in shock, then turned to Harper and smiled giddily. Harper took this as a positive sign and kissed him on the cheek again. Zeke chuckled a little as Harper went closer and kissed his cheek over and over.

Harper slowly came even closer to Zeke, kissing him in other places, trying to search and discover for erogenous zones. She quickly found them, taking cue from Zeke's sudden change in breathing. Soon she was on top of him, kissing him on spots on his neck and under his ear. All seemed to be going well, but soon Zeke was panting… really hard.

Harper stopped and turned to him. "Are you okay?"

Zeke shook his head and started breathing heavily and wheezing. Harper hurriedly grabbed her cellphone and called Alex.

* * *

"He's hyperventilating," Justin explained as Zeke was breathing through a brown paper bag.

Harper looked on desperately as she sat next to her boyfriend and patted Zeke's back. Justin and Alex glared at Max, who just shrugged.

"It was worth a shot," he argued at them.

"Hey, don't blame him," Harper said. "Maybe I should've just never brought this problem up in the first place."

"Don't worry, Harper. I think I'm okay right now," Zeke piped up.

"I didn't mean _that_ problem. I meant… oh, never mind." Harper stood up, grabbed her things, and headed for the door. "I'm going back to my room. See you guys tomorrow."

"Bye Harper!" Zeke called.

Harper just left.

Alex and Justin looked at each other. They HAD to do something.


	5. Chapter 5

**Faint-proof Zeke**

**Flashback:** In the first episode of WOWP (maybe from seasons 1 to 2), Harper had the hugest crush on Justin. Unfortunately, Harper's feelings weren't reciprocated. In "Wizards & Vampires vs. Zombies", fake-brave Harper asked Zeke to go with her to the zombie prom, right after Zeke commented that he knew nothing about women.

**Author's note:** this chapter will be more on the Russo's and Zeke (minimum Harper). Oh, and I would also like to clarify that the setting is still in Season 3 (since Justin and Zeke are already in college in Season 4).

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"Here's your chance!" snapped Alex before Justin could argue. She quickly pushed her brother to the direction where Zeke was heading. Justin turned around and saw her sister hiding behind a plant. He glared at her. She glared back. Justin had no choice but to go with the flow.

"Ehem… uh, hey Zeke!"

"Yo Justin! What's up?" greeted Zeke.

"Oh… nothing much… I was just… ehem… wondering if you had some… lady… troubles… that you need help on?"

Zeke thought for a bit. "Nope. None that I know of…"

Justin pressed on. "Maybe… about… Harper?"

"uhm… I don't think Harper and I have a problem…"

"Are you sure?" Justin insisted. "Not even, like say, a kissing problem?"

"Oh, we solved that problem before, remember?" Zeke just chuckled. "It's all going great between me and Harper!"

Justin gave him a shocked and confused expression. Zeke just smiled and said, "Well, see you later! I gotta go talk to Harper about our robot washing machine."

And with that he was skippity-doo-dah-ing away, leaving Justin dumb-struck.

Alex emerged from her hiding spot and stood behind her brother. She whistled. "Wow… he knows NOTHING about women…" she commented. "Couldn't agree with you more," went Justin.

* * *

Zeke was pretty excited when he saw Harper by the water fountain. It was a good thing Justin was able to get rid of his hydrophobia! Or else he would've never gotten this close to Harper even if he wanted to.

As Harper was leaning in and taking a drink from the fountain, Zeke surprised her by poking her ticklish spots. Or at least, tried to. Harper just stood back upright, wiped the excess water from her chin, and stared at Zeke with tired eyes.

Zeke didn't seem to notice. "Hey Harper!"

Harper didn't respond.

"I was thinking maybe we could continue working on our robot washing machine this week." He enthusiastically said. She just rolled her eyes and went away, leaving Zeke standing there.

Alex saw this and caught up with her best friend. "Harper, are you alright?"

"Do you really have to ask me that?" Harper answered, annoyed.

Alex raised her eyebrows and said, "Whoa Harper… cool down a bit…"

Harper sighed and apologized. "I'm sorry, Alex. It's just that, I'm so frustrated with Zeke right now! Why doesn't he get it?" she complained.

"Zeke's not the kind of guy who understands the opposite sex…" reasoned Alex. "Why don't you just tell him how you feel?" she suggested.

"Does the first move always has to be from me?" Harper asked. "I mean, it was me who first asked him on a date for zombie prom. It was me who was the first to tell him that I liked him. It was me who made the first step in having our first kiss!" she rambled. "And to top it all off, he never really asked me on any kind of date yet."

Alex was about to protest when Harper cut her off. "And no, Alex, asking me to make the robot washing machine with him or any other science-slash-alien related stuff is NOT considered as a date." She rolled her eyes and exhaled. "It's always me making an effort. Well I'm tired and fed up with it."

Harper stomped off. Then she stopped and said, "You know what? I don't think things will work out between me and Zeke." Alex bit her lip. "Or any boy for that matter," Harper added.

And she left, leaving Alex feeling very guilty. She felt bad for her best friend. First her brother and now Zeke. She felt obliged to do something, anything, to make her best friend (and maybe her only friend) happy again.

Alex quickly spun around and went looking for Zeke. She found him still by the water fountain. Apparently he hadn't moved an inch.

"The ball's in your court, Beakerman!" she told him firmly. "Do something before you lose everything."

Zeke just stared at her, bewildered. He wasn't getting it. He opened his mouth to try to ask her what she meant, but Alex didn't give him the opportunity to do so. She just stepped in closer and slowly but sternly told him once again, "The ball… is in… your court…"

* * *

"Justin!" Zeke called out to his best friend. "Can you tell me what your sister meant about a ball being in my court?"

Justin almost answered him, but stopped himself and just shook his head. Zeke had to learn these things about women on his own. He was after all smart enough to do so.

"What did she mean by that?" Zeke asked again. Justin just patted Zeke's back and said, "You think about it, man. Think about it real hard." And with that he left Zeke.

"Why is everyone leaving me these days?" Zeke asked out loud.

"I know why," answered Max, coming up from behind him.

Zeke stared hopefully at him. Max walked in front of Zeke and paused. Zeke waited for a response from Max. Nothing.

"Well?" asked Zeke.

"Well what?"

"Tell me why!"

"Why what?"

"Why everyone is leaving me!"

"Oh! Well, they're angry at you."

Zeke's eyes grew wider. He didn't like it when people disliked him. "Angry? At me? What did I do?"

Max continued with his answer. "Man, you fainted. Many times."

As Zeke was fumbling with the new information, Max continued to walk along the corridor. "Are you leaving me, too?" asked Zeke by the water fountain. "Yep," answered Max.


	6. Chapter 6

**Faint-proof Zeke**

**Flashback:** In "Wizards & Vampires vs. Zombies", fake-brave Harper tells Zeke to walk with her and tell her things he loved about her after asking him to go with her to the zombie prom. In "Alex Russo, Matchmaker?", Harper tried hinting to Zeke that she was crushing on him by "slipping" the info while they were "robot talking". Alex kept spying on them and forcing the two to date in the park. In "Wizards vs. Finkles", Zeke expresses his love for Harper through in front of her parents.

**Author's note:** fluffy stuff ahead! I was thinking of a great background song for the scene (F.N.T. by Semisonic) but it would be sooo corny! :D Oh, and autumn setting!

* * *

**Chapter 6**

It took a lot of time before Zeke Beakerman finally figured it out. And when he did, he felt very stupid and selfish. Of course! Why hadn't he realized it before? Why hadn't he noticed? He misunderstood a lot of things (he thought Harper's weird behavior was just PMS or something).

He thought about all the things that happened between him and Harper. Looking back, he kind of understood why Harper was being all cranky.

He remembered their first date was in zombie prom. He had a great time; he won the dance showdown AND he was with the prettiest girl. He realized however that it was Harper he asked him out and he knew it should have been vice versa. The reason why he didn't make a move was because he knew absolutely nothing about women and would never have a chance to date one… ever. He was really thankful that Harper made the first move, although now he kind of regretted it.

He remembered the times when he really wanted to talk to Harper in the halls at school. He hated that water fountain for a long time. What he hated even more was his hydrophobia.

He remembered the many times when Harper hinted that she liked him. He understood those hints; he was just shrugging them off, acting like he didn't hear or didn't get it, denying the fact that his crush had a crush on him too. He thought it was just too good to be true.

Then he remembered the time when he was afraid to have each other's first kiss. He felt really bad that time. He was thankful that Harper gave him a lot of chances. He was grateful that Harper took the lead.

That's it. Harper always took the lead. Between the two of them, Harper was the brave one. Harper was the man. It became clear to him.

HE was supposed to be the man in the relationship.

Now don't get him wrong, Zeke was a rather smart guy (as smart as Justin, even). And using his talents in robot making, he had a plan to win Harper back. After all, with all that cowardice Zeke showed to his girlfriend, Harper deserved some loving.

It was time for him to man up.

* * *

"Hey Harper!" Zeke called. Harper didn't flinch; she closed her locker and started walking down the hall. Zeke, ever persistent, caught up with her.

"So, Harper… I just finished our robot." He paused, waiting to see if she noticed he had used the word "our". She just continued walking, poker face and all.

"I was wondering if you wanted to see it."

Harper continued giving him the cold shoulder. She hurried along; Zeke stopped following her. He needed some help, and fast.

* * *

"And why should I help you?" asked Alex. "After all that you did, or in this case didn't do, to Harper? She deserves better than you."

Zeke continued pleading. "Please Alex! Give me another chance. I'll take care of her, I swear!"

Alex looked at Zeke, then at her brother. Justin nodded. He knew that Zeke will always keep his promises, no matter what happens.

She sighed, then smiled at Zeke. "Fine."

"Yes!" Zeke jumped in victory. "Thanks you guys! Really!" He hugged them both.

After some time Alex broke the hug and pointed at Zeke. "But if you ever hurt Harper again…"

Zeke cut her off. "I won't."

Alex rolled her eyes and laughed. "Oh, and one more thing. I want romantic walks out in the park, holding hands, and slow kisses on the cheek."

Later that day Alex went to Harper's room. "Hi-yah Harper! Watcha doing on this fine Friday night?" she called out as she entered their former basement. "Nothing much. Looking at old magazines for ideas…" Harper answered.

Alex plopped herself on the bed next to Harper and started looking through the old magazines. "Aren't you supposed to be out with Mason tonight?" Harper asked.

"Nah. I wanted to spend some quality time with my best friend," Alex coyly answered. Harper laughed. "Thanks Alex."

"Whatever," Alex answered. Then she found it - the page she was looking for.

"Hey! Speaking of Mason, check this out!" she showed Harper the magazine. It was a quiz entitled "Is He The Guy For You?"

"Come on! Quiz me!"

After Harper asked the questions and Alex answering them, they tallied up the corresponding points and looked at the results. Alex grinned as the results were positive. "Your turn!" she screamed.

"What? Me?" asked Harper. "Yeah! Let's see if you and Zeke are meant to be together," Alex responded.

"I already know the answer to that one Alex." Harper answered glumly. "Oh stop ruining the fun! Come on!" Alex insisted. Soon enough, Harper gave in and started answering the questions.

At first Harper was very negative in answering the questions about Zeke. Alex knew she had to step things up and started arguing. "You DO have things in common! Like cheerleading!". "Wait! Didn't he express his love for you through the art of the clog? And that was in front of your parents!". "But you like him BECAUSE he's weird!"

After a while of careful consideration (kudos to Alex for being a master debater), they tallied up the points and Zeke passed with flying colors.

"See Harper!" Alex nudged her best friend. "Told you you guys were meant to be together forever." Harper smiled sheepishly and said, "Well, I do still kind of have feelings for him."

Alex smiled and hugged her friend. She stood and left Harper for her to contemplate on things. Alex closed Harper's door, then quickly made her way up to the living room where Justin was waiting, cellphone at hand.

"Text Zeke and tell him to call Harper. Now."

* * *

Harper was sitting by the bench in front of the Russo's apartment. Soon she saw Zeke coming and gave him a weak smile. Zeke smiled back, then went to sit beside Harper.

"Hey Zeke," she greeted. "Hi… Harper," he greeted back.

"I'm sorry about how I've been treating you for the past couple of days," Harper said, embarrassed of herself and looking down. Zeke gently grabbed her hand and patted it. "It's okay."

Harper looked up and smiled at Zeke. Then she saw the huge box that Zeke was carrying a while ago. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yep. I finished it for you," Zeke said proudly. She blushed. He grinned. "Well, show me!" Harper said.

Zeke took the robot out of the cardboard box. He laid it on the ground and pressed the "On" button in the remote control. Soon the robot started moving and rolling around.

"It moves?" Harper squealed. "Yeah," Zeke said. "It even talks, too."

Then the robot started to roll towards Harper. It stopped. Harper looked on in bewilderment.

"I think you are really cute," beeped the robot.

Harper smiled. She looked at Zeke and said, "Aww, what a sweet little robot!". She asked, "But I thought robots don't have opinions?"

Zeke bit his lip. "Well…" he said stepping forward, "Maybe it wasn't the robot's opinion…"

She blushed. He blushed as well.

* * *

They walked around the park, their hand curled into each other's. Zeke lifted it and kissed the back of her hand as orange leaves started to fall. They stopped and locked eyes at each other.

A ladybug got caught in her hair. Zeke smiled as he carefully removed the little critter from her bangs and let it fly off. Harper blushed as he said, "Have I told you that ladybugs look good on you?"

He gently moved the strands of hair from her face and tucked them in her ear. He caressed her cheek, and kissed it.

Harper's eyes brightened as they made eye contact. Zeke gave her a shy smile as he moved his fingers through her hair and onto the back of her neck. She held her breath; he moved forward. And they shared the longest kiss they've ever had, the longest kiss they could share without having to stop for air (not that they wanted to).


End file.
